Anywhere, Everywhere
by athenajay
Summary: No matter what universe he's in, he always finds his life tangled with hers. AU.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This fic is inspired by Claudia Gray's Firebird Trilogy.**

* * *

 _The Theory of Parallel Universes_

There's a lot of ways a different scenario can go.

For example, a mother asks her daughter what she would want in a candy store. The little girl may pick the salty strawberry stripes, the colorful gummy bears, or the bitter dark chocolate.

In one scenario, she goes with the strawberry stripes.

In the other, she goes with the gummy bears.

In another, she goes with the dark chocolate.

And, in some other scenario, she chooses all three. Or none at all. In another setting, she doesn't get the option to choose.

There are multiple answers for different questions.

The multiverse is a theory in which our universe is not the only one that exists. It is a theory that states that there are universes that exist parallel to each other. Basically, all the instances that could ever happen, does. In different universes. Everything can happen.

Although, amidst all those differences in each universe, there are constants.

For example, whatever universe may it be, your parents are always your parents. You will never be alive without one of them. You wouldn't exist.

Another possible constant is your soulmate. Well, maybe. The scientists aren't sure yet, but at least he will know.

 _He will._ She thinks as she 'drops' the necklace on the sidewalk, right where he can see it. She clutches her cloak tighter as she sees him, his long purple hair flowing in the wind, and his two guardian characters playing behind him.

 _Oh, yeah. He will know._

She flees the scene.


	2. The Necklace

**A/N: With this whole fic being about alternate universes (and with me being stupid at science), some things that will happen aren't going to be scientifically accurate. Also, I might make some of the characters a bit OOC. The whole fic will be in Nagihiko's POV unless stated otherwise. This is my first fic, so please leave what you thought about it, it will help me a lot. Thank you!**

 **This is set after Shugo Chara! Encore 2 and before Shugo Chara! Encore 4**

* * *

The sun slowly begins to set as I head back home from the park. It gives off a warm feeling, the orange glow washing over the scenery.

"Man, those spoiling techniques should have been easy to recognize! I can't believe we didn't realize he was Yaya's brother" Rhythm says as he floats by my shoulder.

True, it would have been easy to see. "We didn't really expect him to be Yaya's brother, though. Maybe that's why we didn't recognize him." I replied. I sigh as I think about my empty wallet. Well, there goes any future mall trips for me then. To think I just got my allowance, and my mom wasn't satisfied with my dancing lately. This was the whole reason why I went out anyway, to 'find the flower beginning to bloom.'

"Well, Nagihiko, I expected you to know him as Yaya's brother since you're friends all. Maybe you aren't being a good friend towards Yaya…" Temari teases as she giggles into her kimono. I would have glared at her if I wasn't elated to finally have her back, so instead I sighed.

"Nagihiko was being a _very_ good friend towards Rima though…" Rhythm muses. Now, _he_ I can glare at. Temari high fives him like it's best thing he's ever said. Despite my evil death stares, Rhythm doesn't knock it off, and instead chants " _Rima and Nagihiko sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! HAHAHAHA"_ and then Temari went along to chant with him.

It's a good thing for them that I can control myself REALLY well, or else I would trap them in my drawer all night.

But, it was such a surprise. I didn't think she would open up to me like that, considering her hatred of me. I always thought we would be 'rivals' (even though I don't think of her as one.) There was a bit of hope after the whole Easter thing, when I finally revealed to her my huge secret. I just thought it would be months before we get to a higher level of friendship, I guess, but there was something back there that made my heart flutter. There was something with the peach trees and the sound of her laughter that just _does_ things to me.

Maybe I'm not just used to her being like that with me.

I've never really disliked Rima. Annoyed, yes, but never disliked. I guess I understood why she wanted Amu all to herself—Amu's a great person. She never gives up on others, and tries her best to help. Who wouldn't want to be around her?

"Cut it out, guys." I say, trying my best to hide the blush that is probably forming. _Hinamori Amu._ I used to like her, back when I was still posing as Nadeshiko. You have no idea how much I wanted to strangle Tadase when he was rejecting her for Amulet Heart. The stupidest thing I've ever heard, really. Then, feelings faded and I settled for being the best friend, listening to all her boy problems.

Well, she is easily swooned.

"OI! Nagihiko! Earth to Nagihiko!" Rhythm yells, but I continue to ignore him, still deep in my thoughts. It wasn't until Temari slapped me that I came back to my senses.

"OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" I covered my cheek with my hand. _Never piss off Temari. Never, ever do it. You may think that because she is small, she will do no harm, but if you value your life never ever piss her off._

"Look!" she excitedly points to a necklace on the sidewalk. Wow, she sure changes mood fast. Am I also like that in the so-called 'Nadeshiko mode'?

"Ugh, guys! Wait!" But my charas have already gone and flew over to the piece of jewelry. It looks like the necklaces that Lulu used to make to extract ? eggs.

"It's impossible that this would be one of those, though…" I think loudly. My charas seem to agree.

It had a red pendant too, but it was rounder and smaller. "It's pretty" Rhythm comments.

"Can you please keep it? You know, so you can wear it if you're going to be Nadeshiko…" Temari looks at me with a creepy smile. I looked at it once more, contemplating about it. Obviously someone must have dropped it and it must have been special to them seeing how well taken-care of it is, but would I risk murder at the hands of my chara for a stupid necklace?

Nope.

I take the necklace, running my thumb over the pendant, when suddenly, it clicked.

"Uh, it's a button?" What?

I looked up, expecting to see Rhythm and Temari with similar confused faces, but all I was greeted with was darkness, a strong wind threatening to knock me over.

But I don't.

"What—" I feel myself being harshly pulled forwards, and I brace myself for what was going to happen next.

"Rhthym? Temari—" The feeling of falling cuts me off from looking for them further.

 _What the hell is happening?_


	3. Europe-verse

What. The. Hell.

After that scary ass fall, I slowly opened my eyes. I wasn't on the sidewalk anymore, I realized as I looked around. Amazingly, I managed to land standing up.

Oh god, I think I'm imagining things.

It seems like I was in the middle of dancing, with the traditional Japanese music still playing in the background. There were big mirrors on each wall, except those with windows on it.

 _Wait, I've been here before._

I rushed over to the window to confirm my very impossible suspicion. I'm in…Europe?

"What the hell just happened?" I whispered.

"Ah, well. There's no need to fret." I turned around so fast, I think I practically smacked myself with my own hair. A woman, whose face was concealed by a cloak, stands by the doorway. "You're in Europe." She says, walking over to me.

 _Okay, I'm definitely dreaming. Or maybe I suddenly died and I'm in a special place that's also coincidentally called 'Europe.' I am definitely not doubting that, since this woman looks like someone who'd greet you at the gates of hell_

"Sheesh, will you stop thinking for a sec? I don't have much time." The woman crosses her arms, then stands beside me by the window. "Do you know about the Parallel Universe theory?" she asks.

"Yeah, Nikaidou-sensei mentioned it in class."

She turns to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, which I was totally uncomfortable with if anyone's asking. "Well, welcome to a parallel universe."

And then, I black out.

* * *

Ah, lovely Japan. The cherry blossoms are falling all around me, and I am at peace. Nothing can harm me, and I feel like I can do anything that I want—

 _Slap!_

"Will you wake up?! I don't have much time, you know."

I sat up straight, the cherry blossoms fading before my eyes. The woman in the cloak sits beside me, and even though I can't see her face, I can definitely feel her glaring.

"Anyways, I know you have questions. I'll try to answer them the best that I can, but first let me explain." She stands up to stand by the window again, and I followed.

"Travelling to parallel universes can be….delicate. There are a thousand, or perhaps more, versions of you running around and living different lives. In one life, you might prefer singing over dancing. In another, you might have short hair instead of long. Now, in this universe, what do you think has changed?" She asks me as she observes the people walking by, each of them trying to get somewhere. What time is it, anyway?

"Well, I'm in Europe, so…I guess this is around the time when I was still studying abroad?" She smiles softly at my answer, then shakes her head. "yes, this is Europe, but that's not exactly the answer. You can travel to other universes, but you can't travel through time. So, in other words, you never went back to Japan in this universe."

I stare at her, trying to trace any more differences in this universe.

If I didn't go back to Japan, then that means Kukai never knew that I was Nadeshiko.

And that also means I never met Rima-chan, or Kirishma-kun, and Rhythm… _Oh no, Rhythm._

I desperately search my pockets for my eggs, but then I realized that I had no pockets. _Well, ok, that was stupid._ I try to look around the room to see if I had set them down somewhere, and the woman notices my frantic state.

"You know, whatever it is that you are frantic about losing, this universe's Nagihiko might not care about it." She states. What?

"As I've said, there are things that happen differently in each universe. There are different versions of you in different universes. When you travel to them, you don't really take your body with you, just your consciousness. You get to explore the different universes in the body of that universe's version of you." She explains further.

"What, like possession?"

"Pretty much."

Well, that's creepy. Sorry, Europe-verse Nagihiko.

"How did I get here?" I ask. She turns to look at me, and then at the necklace hanging around my neck. Wait, when the hell did I put it on?

"This necklace was invented by my uncle. It takes you to different universes when you press the jewel. You can choose which universe to go to by thinking about it, or by putting its coordinates in it. If you want to go to a random one, you can just press it otherwise. You wouldn't be able to go to a universe where you don't exist, anyway. As for you, I've put in the coordinates where I want you to go. All you have to do is press it when the jewel is warm and glowing." She explains, holding the jewel in her palm.

"But, why me? Why did you choose me to do this whole thing? What am I even going to do around here? I did not sign up to be a lab rat, if this is what it is." I expected this... _experience_ to be somehow related to whatever NASA or some scientists association's doing, like maybe testing out their new inventions on me. I was expecting a, 'OH NOES! you're not supposed to know yet!' from her, but instead she laughs at me. Well, ok, maybe not a lab rat then.

"Prideful as always." She whispers. _Always?_ "You're the only one who can do this. As to what you're going to do, well, that's for me to know and for you to find out." She puts a finger to her lips, as if telling me to shush, and then disappears out of thin air.

"Oh my god- What?! Where did you go?" I looked around the room, only to find myself alone.

Maybe she really might have been a ghost.

I sighed, and scanned the room once more. Well, I've officially lost it. I've officially lost my mind.

"Ah, Nagihiko!" I turn to the doorway and see Temari flying over to me. "Are you done practicing? You do need to enjoy life sometimes, you know." She smiles softly at me before proceeding to sit on my shoulder.

I debated telling her what is happening, but I decided not to. I don't think she could handle it, seeing as I can barely handle it myself.

"Yeah, I guess I'm done. Where's Rhythm?" I asked, and she looks at me like I answered a 'five' to a 'two-plus-two' question. "Nagihiko, who are you referring to?"

Shoot. Rhythm probably wasn't born in this universe. "Ah, sorry. Nevermind." She nods, and then tugs at my shirt. "Let's go somewhere, Nagihiko! Let's have some fun before you practice again tomorrow."

I absent-mindedly nodded my head and let Temari lead the way.

Rhythm was never born, meaning that I never really thought much of being able to act like a boy. Also, Temari never returned to her egg. I guess this universe's Nagihiko has his heart in order.

But, what's sadder is that I never got to spend all those times with the guardians back home. Yaya and Kukai never knew about Nagihiko, while Rima never got to know me at all.

Temari leads me out of the building, and I am instantly lost in a sea of people, all going to work it seems. When I was back in the original universe, it was around 6 pm, and since I definitely didn't time travel and Japan and the UK has an 8 hour difference, I'd say it's around 10 am.

"It's really rare for you to get day-offs, Nagihiko. It's nice that you still wanted to practice and all, but isn't going out nicer?" Temari smiles brightly me, and I smiled back. She takes the lead once again, dodging all the strict looking people in business attire.

I think about what the woman told me, and wondered what the hell happened to my body back home. Did it disappear into thin air or will my mother think that I died and bury it? _Shit, they better not._

Honestly, despite me still being a bit dazed at everything that's happening, I'm quite annoyed at the woman. I'd probably be more excited if she took me on this 'crazy adventure' after I graduate. And just when I thought Rima and I can now form a great relationship. Great, just great.

I continue my walk on the streets of London. Maybe I should try to find a Starbucks or something, I don't think this Nagihiko has had breakfast yet. Wow, he's probably super dedicated to dancing if he hasn't—

"Watch where you're going!" A girl yells, snapping out of my thoughts.

Wait, that was in Japanese.

And she's blonde.

And small.

 _Like a doll._

"Rima-chan?"


	4. Meet Rima (and Aimi)

**A/N This fic is rated T because there are instances in the story where I will use swear words, so if those kind of words offend you, or cause a trigger in some way, then I guess it's best to warn you that there's one swear word in this chapter. (There will probably be more in the following ones, just a head's up) I will try my best to avoid using them so everyone may read freely.**

* * *

I extend a hand out to her to help her out, and I kind of expected her not to take it, but she does and fixes her skirt.

"Nagihiko, are you alright?" Temari asks, returning to my side.

"Oh. My. God." Rima whispers. "You have a chara?" Then a chara, who was hiding behind Rima, reveals herself. "A shugo chara!" She laughs, "I'm Aimi! Nice to meet you!"

The chara wore a light pink dress, which looked like it had glitters on it if you looked closer. She was blonde like Rima, with the same hairstyle and everything, except instead of a black hairband, she had a pink one. She had a warm smile; she was friendly, very different from her bearer.

So, I guess Rima has a different dream in this world. I wonder what dream she's born from.

Temari then returns the greetings.

"You called me Rima." She looks at me suspiciously, just like she did when I just met her.

 _Wait, I'm not supposed to know her. Shit._

"Oh, I…did?" I laughed nervously. "No, I, uh… just, let out a noise hahahaha"

'Let out a noise,' yeah, because that's more believable. And totally not weird at all.

"…you're weird." Yes, I know. "But, you speak Japanese, and you seem nice, so I'm going to let you be an acquaintance." She declares, sticking her nose up like the ice queen that she is.

"Uhm, thanks?" I replied, not really sure if I should feel so honored with this…

Oh, what the heck. It took me months to be an acquaintance back home, this is definitely a win.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asks, smiling. It hasn't even been an hour and I got her to smile already!

This universe's Rima is definitely nicer.

"Ah, well I was going to go get breakfast. Do you wanna come with?" Her eyes light up at the word 'breakfast,' just like the Rima I know back home does whenever I say 'the biscuits are done!'

"Yea, sure. Lead the way, um…"

"Oh! Nagihiko. My name's Nagihiko."

"My name is Rima." She smiles again, and I can't help but feel that fluttering feeling again.

* * *

"Hey, Nagihiko." She grabs the tip of my shirt sleeve, attempting to catch up a bit as we walk to some café.

"Oh, sorry, I'll slow down a bit." She glares at me, then mumbles "It's not my fault that I'm short." And makes that face where her cheeks puff out.

Ah, there's the chibi that I know.

"Anyways," she says, returning back to her normal state. I kinda miss those puffed-out cheeks. "You're from Japan, right?"

"Yep."

"Then what made you come to Europe?"

I smiled at her, finally reaching the café that I was looking for. I opened the door and let her in, before entering myself. "I came to Europe to study dancing. What about you, Rima?"

"My father's on a business trip here, thought I'd come along."

Rima ordered strawberry cake and cocoa, while I got a chicken sandwich and water.

Europe-verse's Nagihiko better thank me for sticking to the diet, because I really wanted to get the chocolate cake instead.

"Why do you not cut your hair?" Rima asks after we settled down in our seat, which is a couch by the window.

"I just prefer it long, I guess." I take a bite of my sandwich, and then I caught her staring. Well not exactly at me, but at my hair.

"It's pretty." She says, taking a piece of her cake. "How do you maintain it?"

I almost choked on my sandwich, because first of all, _Rima thought my hair was pretty oh wow_

And then secondly, _What the hell is she talking about, her hair is definitely better._

"Um, I honestly don't really do much…" Then she gets that glint in her eyes that usually makes shivers run down my spine; that _look_ when I do something a little bit better than her and she's about to unleash hell on me.

"You don't do much and that's how pretty it looks?" She whispers menacingly.

"ahahahahayeah" I squeak, in fear of the oncoming outburst.

Instead, she sighs, and says "You're lucky, I mean, I can't even brush my own hair because it will poof out. It makes me look like some sort of monster in the morning."

"Rima scared herself once because of that!" Aimi laughs, and Rima slaps a hand over Aimi's mouth.

I, however, started laughing.

And then, moments later, she was laughing along too.

It was like that moment we had, right after Tsubasa (Yaya's brother) was picked up by his parents. It's a nice feeling to make people laugh, but when I made Rima laugh, it feels so much…better.

Like I feel more alive.

"Nagihiko? Are you alright?" Rima asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, you just reminded me of a friend" She raises an eyebrow, questioning me.

"Oh? Who is this 'friend'?" She rests her chin on her palms, leaning towards me from across the table.

"Well, I don't even know if she's actually a friend. I consider her one, but she doesn't like me that much."

"and why is that?"

"She thinks I'm stealing her best friend away from her." I say, playing with my bottle of water. "Who, by the way, is also my best friend."

Rima leans back into the couch, "Ah, she's the protective type then."

"More like the jealous type." I snicker.

"I guess so. Although, there's got to be a reason why she acts that way, don't you think? Maybe that best friend of yours helped your friend get through something. You'd also try hard to not let that person slip away from you, would you?"

Is she telling me that she's afraid to lose Amu? Why would she? Amu wouldn't go anywhere, she's not the type.

Rima takes a sip of her cocoa, then sets it down. "Do you have other things planned today?" I asked.

"Nothing really." She takes her phone out, reading a message. "My dad allowed me to explore the city today, as long as I come back before 6. Something about meeting his business partners over dinner."

I smiled at her before getting up and saying, "Then, is it ok if I explore the city with you?"

"Yeah." She smiles, before getting up herself. "That would be fun."


	5. The Teddy Bear and This Déjà vu Moment

**A/N Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my first story! I** **appreciate all the reviews you have left, it motivates me to write even more :)**

 **WARNING: For this chapter, there is some swearing involved, and mentions of death and drunk driving.**

* * *

Rima had already seen all the landmarks in London since her father had accompanied her on his one free day, so we settled for just walking around, stopping by a mall to see if there's anything interesting. Rima bought a cute pastel pink sundress from Zara (thanks to Aimi's constant whispering, which composed of "buy the dress Rima-chan…" and ended in "buy the dress or I'll tell Nagihiko that one time you accidentally kicked that kid—" Rima didn't need much encouragement after that), while I got myself some hair ties, because I keep losing them and then I'll have to dance with my hair flying all over the place.

We were walking…well, anywhere our feet would take us, when we spotted a bunch of stalls set up in the park.

"A fair!" Aimi shouts excitedly, although I'm not quite sure that's what you call it.

Our charas flew over to the stalls, with us trailing behind. There were food stalls, there were booths that were selling stuff, and there were booths that had parlor games. I turned to Rima to ask her what she wanted to do, when I saw her eyeing the big teddy bear that was a prize in a parlor game.

"You have your eye on something, Rima?" I ask, and she turns away from the bear, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Nope."

Aw, how cute.

"Lying wouldn't help you get what you want, Rima-chan." I smiled sweetly, just to annoy her a bit. She huffed then pointed at the bear.

"You're not exactly saying what you want, Rima-chan." I said, pushing her buttons a bit more. I forgot how much I loved this.

"What happened to the nice Nagihiko I knew?" She retorts, crossing her arms.

"I am being nice, since I will actually get you what you want, but if you don't tell me, then I won't know."

Her eyes sparkled as she thought about what I said, and then, giving in to her desires, she looks at me and says, "Nagihiko, that bear over there looks really cute and I want it."

"Magic word?"

"Please?"

"Very good." I patted her head just to push it a bit more. She growled, but then kept her cool. "That's a good Rima." Aimi chuckles.

The game was simple; all you have to do is knock down the bottles using the balls provided. You get three balls to knock all three bottles, so really all I get is one chance to get the big teddy bear.

"You better get me that bear, Nagihiko."

"Demanding, aren't we?"

"Shut up and concentrate!" She hisses, slapping my arm. I always thought she'd be too weak to cause me physical pain, but boy this universe's Rima proves me wrong.

I gave the man the money and he gave me the balls. I held the first ball in my hand, aimed it, and then—

"You did it!" Rima says, more out of shock rather than joy. Well, at least Temari and Aimi are supportive.

"It's easy, really." I tease. I took the second ball, and then—

"Yay, Nagi!" Aimi cheers.

"One last bottle to knock over, then you get the big teddy bear." The man says, stepping out of the way. I grabbed the third ball, and then—

"Nagihiko!" Rima slaps my arm again. "Ow! It's not my fault that I missed!" Rima huffs and then crosses her arms. "Ah, well that's fine. I told you it was hard. Come on, I think I see an ice cream stand over there."

Rima grabs my wrist and was about to drag me away, but I resisted. "No, I'm gonna get you that teddy bear."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

I turn back to the stand, feeling an adrenaline rush. I handed the man money for the second time that night, and wondered if this universe's Nagihiko was competitive as well and we were teaming up together to create this very determined human being who really wants to win the giant teddy bear for his new pretty friend.

"Well, good luck!" The man says, and then whispers, "whipped"

I rolled my eyes and then aimed the first ball.

* * *

We were now at the park, and it's around 4 pm. Rima is very happy, struggling a bit to hold her new bear. Aimi was singing something that sounded like Katy Perry, but it's very hard to tell with her being off-key the whole time. Temari, on the other hand, was tired and is now resting on my shoulder. To be fair, it was a long day, and we were now searching for a place to sit on.

"Nagihiko, over there." Rima points to a nearby empty bench, and we practically ran to sit on it. I guess it's safe to say we're all pretty worn out.

"I still can't believe it took you 10 more tries to win this." Rima laughs, hugging her bear tightly. I can feel my cheeks heat up slightly, feeling ecstatic that I am able to make her laugh like this.

"Well, I couldn't bear to make a pretty girl sad." I said, leaning back into the bench. She laughs again at my pun, and then sighs contentedly.

"You know," she begins, leaning back into bench just like I did. "I've been with you the whole day and I barely know you."

"Well, what do you want to know?" I looked at her curiously.

"Well, I was sort of hoping I can ask you questions the fun way, and play a game of 20 questions." She suggests. At this point, Aimi now decides to stop singing and sits beside Rima.

"I don't really see how that's fun," I say, my eyebrows creasing. "you're just practically asking me questions, only with me asking you questions too. It's not much of a game, really."

"Stop being such a killjoy and play the game." She pouts, and then I give in.

"Fine, fine. You go first."

She readjusts herself, turning a bit so she could face me.

"How long have you been in Europe?"

"Well, I—" wait, I don't know if this Nagihiko arrived here the same time as me. Um, shit, to hell with it. "I came here around…last year? So I've not been here that long." Well, that seems right.

"So, now it's my turn to ask." I say, thinking of something to ask when Aimi yawns and decides to take a nap next to Rima. "What dream was Aimi born out of?"

Her eyes widen, and then softens as she looks at her chara. "Well, that's kind of a long story… but basically, she was born out of my desire to make people feel loved."

I almost choked on air on her statement, but I guess I can kind of see it. It is somehow similar to making other people laugh I guess.

"Wow, that's a nice dream."

She blushes, and then turns to look anywhere but me. "It's a bit embarrassing to say, really."

"Really? I think it's great that you want people to feel loved. There are so many people out there who are lost and hurting, and your dream…" I let my words drift off, and silence comes between us for a moment.

"Are you lost and hurting?" She asks, catching me off guard. Suddenly, I see memories of Amu laughing in my head, her hanging out with 'Nadeshiko.' I cringe internally and say, "yes, I guess you can say that."

Rima looks at me worriedly, something I have yet to see. "Why?" she asks.

"I believe it is my turn to ask now, Rima-chan."

"Hmp. Fine." She crosses her arms and stares at her feet.

"You mentioned your dad being with you here in Europe, but…where's your mom?" I can see her eyes widen again, tears starting to form. Oh my god, I think I said something I shouldn't have mentioned.

"Um, Rima—"

"No, it's ok, I can tell the story. " She leans back on the bench like she was before, blinking back tears. "It was 2 years ago. She called us to say she'd come home late from work, because she has this stupid report to work on…and then…and then…"

I scooted closer to her, gently picking Aimi up and placing her on the now empty space beside me to get closer to Rima. I pulled her in for a hug, and she moved closer, resting her head on my shoulder. "There was this…stupid, drunk man…" she struggles to say, still fighting back her tears. "…and they just…she was driving home from work and this idiot was driving while drunk and…she didn't…she—"

"You don't have to force yourself to tell me, you know." I say, running my hands through her hair (which smells like peaches, by the way) in an attempt to comfort her. She goes quiet for a while, and I worry that she suddenly fainted or something, but then softly she says, "I already said this before, I'm not gonna cry."

I smiled at the déjà vu moment. Laughed, almost, but then now is really not the time to laugh. I decided to bite, and said "That's right, because it's not tears that suit you…" I gently lift her head from my shoulder, making her face me. "It's a smile."

She stared at me, her eyes doing that shiny-thing again, and then laughs. I laughed along, too. Aside from this moment repeating the same way (well, not _exactly_ ) in this universe, the butterflies were back in my stomach, fueled by the cute blonde's laughter.

Eventually, the laughter died down. We sat comfortably in silence, her head resting on my shoulder, and my arm around her. We watched as the sun began to set, when her phone began to rang.

"Hello? Oh, uh, yes papa. Sorry, I forgot about the time" She gets out of my arms and wakes Aimi up. "Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can." She says to the caller, which I assumed is her dad. Aimi, still sleepy, floats to rest in Rima's bag. Rima closes her phone and puts it in her bag, which she didn't close all the way to let Aimi breathe.

"Today was nice, Nagihiko." She smiles, standing up. "I hope we can catch up some time." She says.

"Yup, I'll see you when you're back in town." I say. She looks at me like I'm from another planet, and then goes "Haven't you heard of Facebook?"

I laughed awkwardly. Oh, yeah, that.

"Well, I guess we can resume our 20 questions game there." I tell her, and then she smiles, grabs her giant bear, and dashes to the exit of the park. I smiled at her retreating form, watching her until she's out of my view. God, I look like a stalker.

"Had fun?"

I swear I screamed louder than Saaya did when we went on that scary rollercoaster.

"Relax" The woman (the one who is responsible for me being here, in case you forgot) said, crossing her legs and making herself comfortable on the bench.

"How do you do that?!" I shrieked, still a bit shook from her sudden appearance.

"Gracefully." She responds, not really answering my question. "Now, how is this whole going-to-alternate-universes thing going for you? Having fun?"

"Well..yeah, I guess?" I looked at her weirdly, frowning a bit at her making this whole thing sound like something so normal. "Anyways," I say, brushing those things off. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"You say that only my consciousness is the one that travels through the alternate universes."

"Yup." She says, filing her nails. Wait, where did she get a nail file?

"So, um, in a sense, it means I'm possessing this universe's Nagihiko's body, correct?"

"Yup, told you that on your first day, sweetie."

"Well, then what happens to this Nagihiko's consciousness? Does he get kicked out or something?" She puts away her nail file, finally deciding to take me seriously. "Huh, I thought you were going to ask about your body back home, since that's what everyone usually asks first."

"Well, I was going to ask that too—"

"This universe's Nagihiko doesn't get kicked out, since this isn't high school or Big Brother. He's there, in the back of your mind…well, his mind? I don't know, it's confusing, but he's there. For him, it's like he's in a dream state. He's not going to remember much, well, he's not going to remember meeting me at all, I'm gonna make sure of that."

I glanced at her, giving her a worried face once again, thinking about my day with Rima. "He's not going to remember meeting Rima?"

"Oh, he will remember that. Just, not as clearly. Every decision you make, he'll feel as if he was the one who made those. So, he's not going to know a version of him from the other universe invaded his body." The woman finishes.

"…what about my body back home?"

"Oh, well, once you leave your home universe, time stops there for a while. No one really knows you're gone, and no one can find your unconscious body on the sidewalk."

"Oh, thank goodness that's cleared up." I say, letting out a sigh of relief. I can now _not_ worry about my mom burying my body.

"Is that what you were worrying about the whole time?" She asks me like I was stupid. I would be offended, but then she normalizes this whole alternate universe thing already. I expected nothing less. She sighs, moments after me just staring at her in response to her question, and then murmurs, "Well, you were always the worrier."

"Wait, what—"

"Now, are you ready to go?" She asks (a bit too excitedly if you asked me), cutting me off.

"What? Where?"

"To the next universe, silly!" Really, it's a wonder that Temari is still asleep on my shoulder. (I bet all of you forgot about her.)

She takes my hand and guides it to the necklace that was hidden by my shirt. "I told you; when it's warm and it's glowing, it means it's time to leave."

The necklace was indeed warm and glowing. I wrapped my fingers around the pendant, but then…

"Wait, so that's it? Wasn't I supposed to do something? All I did was be with Rima the whole day!"

The woman smirks.

"Wait, so my mission, or whatever it is that I'm supposed to do, is related to Rima? How—"

"On to the next universe!" She screeches, and I pressed my pendant out of fear, darkness engulfing me and a force pulling me to my next stop.


End file.
